John B

Does the rest of the album have this same sound or is this cut an aberration? I'll try to get my comments on disc #1 posted tomorrow.

I was just browsing through the 05/07 posts and I have to ask why we never have any get togethers like "Improvised Music and Hot Dogs?"

1. So this track should be a "gimme," but this sure doesn't sound like any Cannonball I've heard. Ok, there's the alto...this sounds like he was overdubbed onto the latin band we heard at the beginning of the track. They don't sound totally in sync. Kind of an odd track, really. 2. Ok, another one of those "machine guns / strings / sax blow outs" that seems ubiquitous these days. What a bizarre track. Is this "live" or an assemblage? I'm really curious to read who this is. 3. a little too lush and overly sweet for my tastes. Not really my cup of tea. The sax is ok, but still bordering on schmaltz. 4. someone very influenced by Billie Holliday. Not really my cup of tea. 5. This is more like it. Early on, the rhythm section seems out of sync with the horns. They (the rhythm section) are a freight train, out of control running down the tracks and the horns are trying to stay on for dear life. Freddie Hubbard? No clue on the tenor, although I really enjoy his playing. 6. dual pianos, no clue who this is. Out of ignorance I would guess Jarrett, but don't think that is correct. I go back and forth on my estimation of this track, so I could see myself either loving or hating this album. 7. I really liked this track. Soprano, which should narrow things down a bit, but I'm not hearing enough to go on to identify anyone. 8. Another bizarre track. Steel drum / percussion…the track quiets down, and then the trombone kicks in. What an odd song. I’d have to guess Ray Anderson, based on the quirkiness, and this doesn’t sound like Weirbos, definitely someone American. 9. Ouch, that synth is horrible. I want to give this track a chance, but the synth is killing this one for me. Really cheesy, awful. And over 11 minutes long, too. I’m hearing nothing redeeming here. Everything is processed to death. I would use this track as an example of the worst excesses of over-production and dated effects. This is one of the reasons people hate fusion. In some ways this almost sounds like something Prince would have done in the 80’s. The writing is different, which helps, but not enough to redeem the track in any way. Ugh. 10. Another track where the rhythm section sounds like they had way too much caffeine and can barely contain themselves. Quite a breakneck pace they are setting. I’m really enjoying the tenor. Was this recorded live? I would have loved to have seen this band in person. 11. This sounds like a brief studio excerpt from the recording of In A Silent Way. Based on that I'll guess Zawinul. What a bizarre disc, Jim! I had a lot of fun listening to this, even to the tracks I didn't really enjoy. Nicely done!

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...ndpost&p=133254

"So now I will continue my fight on a grander scale. Jazz Workshop Inc, the publisher of Charles Mingus' legacy of composition, will reissue, legitimately, the best stolen Mingus material on hand. We will press the very material released illegally by others, do it better and sell it back again-- with comprehensive notes, authentic photographs, historical data, cheaper rates. We will undersell the pirates and put them out of business. That is our plan. Joel Dorn heard my story and now we are armed: Revenge Records! Anyone in possession of pirated Mingus CD's, please contact us at the address below. The presses are waiting. Sue Mingus" 9 years later and still no second release on Revenge Records.....

To my ears, yesterday, what you describe was a good thing! In a way, this disc reminds me of an old-fashioned blowing / cutting session: a big group of horn players all trying to out-blow each other on consecutive solos. This album is sort of the european free improv version of Johnny Griffin's A Blowing Session. Definitely not what I always what I want to hear but, when I am in the mood for it, it really hits the spot.

I think this is one of the reasons I'm having trouble with this disc. Unlike Glasgow Sunday, where the two other musicians fill roles in the background, supporting Jandek, the earlier collaborations seem, to my ears, to work in the opposite way. Jandek moves to the back, allowing the collaborators to dominate and lead the proceedings. Perhaps if I get past this aversion I'll revise my opinion of FYF.

Follow Your Footsteps I like this one but probably less so than you, Dave. Nice playing by the guest guitarist but I have to wonder if that type of musicianship is best NOT found on a Jandek album, at least not at this point in Sterl’s career. (I’m thinking of the 2004 live set and just how good that trio worked together.) While our guest is clearly a more polished player than Jandek, he’s also much less interesting. ← I'm not quite ready to post my full thoughts on this one yet, as it is taking some time to sink in. My first impression is that this album is pleasant, but slight. I'm not finding too much to grab onto here. It doesn't sound, to my ears, that Jandek was very involved during the recording of this disc. It sounds like he sat back and let the other contributors take the lead which stops this album from having that essential "Jandek" sound that I look for when I grab one of his discs. My interim review: pleasant, but not essential.

I'll give a thumb's up to Peter Brötzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle on Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. I like this quick blurb from AAJ, especially the last line: "Berlin Djungle (originally released on FMP) is a large-scale session from the 1984 JazzFest Berlin. Brötzmann is one of the original Globe Unity Orchestra members, and he takes that international concept and applies it here to a clarinet-based ensemble. Tony Coe, Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, Louis Sclavis, J.D. Parran, and John Zorn join him on the front clarinet line. Augmenting them is trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson, and the “rhythm section” of William Parker and Tony Oxley. Much like similar efforts from both sides of the Atlantic, Berlin Djungle is both dense and sparse, delicate and bludgeoning, laser-beam tight and searchlight-wandering, an unrepeatable exhortation of something Benny Goodman might have nightmares about." Not essential, but a fun listen.

Not a disc I would recommend starting with for experiencing Sclavis' work, Peter Brötzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle (Atavistic Unheard Music Series) is worth checking out just to hear Sclavis in quite an unusual situation. AAJ had a nice blurb review of this one: "Berlin Djungle (originally released on FMP) is a large-scale session from the 1984 JazzFest Berlin. Brötzmann is one of the original Globe Unity Orchestra members, and he takes that international concept and applies it here to a clarinet-based ensemble. Tony Coe, Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, Louis Sclavis, J.D. Parran, and John Zorn join him on the front clarinet line. Augmenting them is trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson, and the “rhythm section” of William Parker and Tony Oxley. Much like similar efforts from both sides of the Atlantic, Berlin Djungle is both dense and sparse, delicate and bludgeoning, laser-beam tight and searchlight-wandering, an unrepeatable exhortation of something Benny Goodman might have nightmares about."

"Eventually" will be August 2nd. ←

"Eventually" will be August 2nd. Eremite is releasing a 2cd set called Blue Winter, of the entire Johnson State College show (the show I mentioned attending back in December.)

Really? That is a shame. If I knew that a musician felt this way I would make a point of not downloading their material. Leo must be getting pennies on the dollar from Emusic, as they reimburse per track, not per album. Many Leos have one to four tracks, making each album amazingly inexpensive to download.

I just saw a post from Jan Strom that there is a new disc out on Ayler: Lars-Göran Ulander Trio - Live at Glenn Miller Café (Ayler) with Palle Danielsson, b Paal Nilssen-Love, dr This is the first I've heard of Ulander. Are any of you familiar with his work?

Track #2 is vinyl only, also, if this discography is to be believed. I'm enjoying this track quite a bit but, so far, it's my wife's favorite track on the BFT. She loves this one, if it is indeed the track I linked to.

Agreed. This is a fantastic offer! I've been enjoying all of the discs on Leo I've been hearing recently. This will be a good chance to explore some titles I'm not as familiar with.

Discs received! The Man With The Golden Arm and Stereojack will have their discs in the mail tomorrow.

Have any of you had a chance to listen to the (now OOP) 8cd set Document: New Music From Russia: the '80's yet? I am going to start downloading this set from emusic and was wondering if any of the discs were worth avoiding or if the entire set was essential. I'm listening to Frank Gratkowski's Spectral Reflections right now and enjoying it quite a bit. Have any of you heard his new double cd set Loft Exile V? It features two live concerts, with three to four horns, two bass players and two drummers. It sounds very interesting.

Again I agree with Chaney and Dave 100%. Modern Dances sounds like a patchwork album to me. A collection of tracks, recorded at various times, with various combinations of friends helping out. (I agree that there is a second male voice on a few tracks.) That being said, it doesn't hold together very well as an album and the general level of inspiration is fairly low. Anyone who delves deeply into the Jandek catalog should grab a copy of this one at some point, as it is humorous and has some points of interest, but it is definitely not essential and definitely not one of the first discs I would recommend to someone starting to explore the work of Jandek. I wonder if this album was recorded so "hot" intentionally? Perhaps to make the songs sound more aggresive? Or was it just ineptness with some new recording equipment?

Romano / Sclavis / Texier - Suite Africaine (Label Bleu) Very, very strong album.

We certainly agree it's a great album though!!! ← Oh, yeah! Just about everything the AEC released in that era is fantastic, imo.

Apologies for relying on my faulty memory!

Great album, but he's not on it.

R.I.P. I just ordered Round About a Bass and will spin the HUM set in his honor.

Ok, I have this disc but have not listened to it in quite some time. I'll give it a listen today.